2010-11 APR Glossary-Demographic Characteristics

This glossary defines key terms shown on the school, local educational agency, or state Demographics Characteristics section of the 2010 Base Academic Performance Index Report, which is part of the 2010–11 Accountability Progress Reporting system. Terms described below are listed in the order in which they appear on this section of the 2010 Base Academic Performance Index Report. More detailed information may be found in the 2010–11 Academic Performance Index Reports Information Guide.

State Accountability: Academic Performance Index

State legislation, the Public Schools Accountability Act (PSAA) of 1999 (Chapter 3, Statutes of 1999), established the Academic Performance Index (API), which summarizes a school's or a local educational agency's (LEA) academic performance and progress on statewide assessments. (An LEA is a school district or county office of education.) The API also is used as an additional indicator for federal Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) requirements.

School, LEA, or State Demographic Characteristics

Along with general demographic data, the 2010 Base API Report for a school, an LEA, or the state includes the demographic characteristics on which the school characteristics index for the 2010 Base API similar schools rankings is based. The data for the percentages and rates for the Demographics Characteristics section of the 2010 Base API Report were collected from these sources:

CBEDS is a system for collecting and sharing demographic data about students, schools, school districts, and education staff in the California public school system in kindergarten through grade twelve. The data are collected once a year on a Wednesday in early October that is designated as "Information Day."

The STAR Program is California's statewide testing program. The three components of the STAR Program that are used in the API are: the California Standards Tests (CSTs), grades two through eleven; the California Modified Assessment (CMA), grades three through nine in English-language arts and grades three through seven in mathematics and Algebra I; and the California Alternate Performance Assessment (CAPA), grades two through eleven.

Race and Ethnicity

This item is the percentage of students in each race and ethnicity category taken from the 2010 STAR Program student answer document:

Black or African American

American Indian or Alaska Native

Asian

Filipino

Hispanic or Latino

Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander

White

Two or More Races

Percentages for ethnic/racial may not sum to 100 due to responses of "Other," "Decline to State," or non-response.

Eligible for Free or Reduced-Price Lunch

This item is the percentage of students who were eligible for the free or reduced-price lunch program (also known as the National School Lunch Program) taken from the 2010 STAR Program student answer document. Parent education level and free or reduced-price lunch are used to represent student socioeconomic status in determining subgroups and similar schools ranks.

Participants in Gifted and Talented Education Program and Participants in Migrant Education Program

These items are the percentages of students who participated in the gifted and talented education program and migrant education program. These items were taken from the 2010 STAR Program student answer document.

English Learners

This item is the percentage of students who are designated as English learners (ELs), formerly known as limited-English-proficient (LEP) students, taken from the 2010 STAR Program student answer document.

Reclassified Fluent-English-Proficient Students

This item is the percentage of students who are designated as reclassified fluent-English-proficient (RFEP), taken from the 2010 STAR Program student answer document.

Students with Disabilities

This item is the percentage of students who are designated as students with disabilities, taken from the 2010 STAR Program student answer document. A student with disabilities receives special education services and has a valid disability code on the student answer document.

Mobility

School, CBEDS Date
This item is the percentage of students who were counted as part of the school enrollment on the October 2009 CBEDS data collection and who have been continuously enrolled since that date to the date of STAR Program testing. This item is taken from the 2010 STAR Program student answer document and is used for inclusion/exclusion mobility rules and for similar schools ranks. Students counted in this item will be included in the school’s API.

LEA, CBEDS DateThis item is the percentage of students who were counted as part of the LEA enrollment on the October 2009 CBEDS data collection and who have been continuously enrolled since that date to the date of STAR Program testing. This item is taken from the 2010 STAR Program student answer document and is used for inclusion/exclusion mobility rules. Students counted in this item will be included in the LEA’s API. All students, regardless of mobility, are included in the state's AP with the exception of ELs who were fist enrolled in U.S. schools for less than a year.

Fully Credentialed Teachers and Teachers with Emergency Credentials

The percentage of teachers with full teaching credentials and the percentage of teachers in the school with emergency credentials, were not collected during the 2009 CBEDS collection and are unavailable for reporting in the 2010–11 APR reporting cycle.

Enrollments

These items include the percentage of students enrolled according to grade level or grade span
and are used in the calculation of similar schools ranks.

Parent Education Level

This item is the percentage of responses indicating the education level of the student’s most educated parent, taken from the 2010 STAR Program student answer document. The following categories are used:

Not a high school graduate

High school graduate

Some college

College graduate

Graduate school

Parent education level and free or reduced-price lunch are used to represent pupil socioeconomic status in determining subgroups and similar schools rankings.

Average Parent Education Level

This item is the average of all parent educational level responses for a school where the following scale is used:

1 = Not a high school graduate
2 = High school graduate
3 = Some college
4 = College graduate
5 = Graduate school

Average Class Size

Average class size data was not collected during the 2009 CBEDS collection and is not available for reporting in the 2010–11 APR reporting cycle.

Enrollment in Grades Two Through Eleven on the First Day of Testing

This item is the number of students enrolled on the first day of STAR Program testing, taken from the 2010 STAR Program student answer document. For LEAs, this item includes special education students who receive services outside the school district but are assigned back to the school district of residence.

Students Exempted from STAR Program Testing Per Parent Written Request

This item is the number of students whose parents or guardians have requested that the student be exempted from STAR Program testing, taken from the 2010 STAR Program student answer document.

Number of Students Tested

This item is the number of students in grades two through eleven tested in the STAR Program, taken from the 2010 STAR Program student answer document.

Multi-track, Year-round School

This item is for school reports only. This item indicates whether or not the school is multi-track, year-round taken from the 2009 CBEDS School Information Form.